Rugy
by Sera1
Summary: This is the story of my Zafara, Rugiler. How he came into the household, and wormed his way into my heart. Also contains my other 3 pets. R&R. Ch. 2 up, you gotta refresh it to get the full version.
1. A new family

Author's note: The only Neopets I own are the ones on my account. The honor of owning the site goes to the wonderful people that created it. And we're all grateful for their hard work. Also, yes, my pets ARE this weird.

  
  


*********************

  
  


Rugiler sighed as he shifted in his cage. The wooden shavings were MEANT to make things softer, and protect from the icy coldness of the cage bottom, but REALLY! Were they supposed to be this uncomfortable?

  


Comfortable or not, there was nothing the Zafara could do about it. It was either deal with it, or... deal with it. He winced as he pick his way over to his food and water bowls, the accursed wood chips biting into the tough pads of his feet.

  


Ugh. Kibble again. Not that he had ever gotten anything different in the pound, but you would think they could give you a little variety once in a while, right? He took a sniff, and recoiled. He had been given the Kacheek and Usul kibble again. They got so few Zafaras in, that they didn't bother buying the brand especially for them.

  


The only thing that he did to express his displeasure was to grunt, though. No one could do anything about it, so, again, it was back to the "deal with it" motto.

  


His stomach protested at the invasion of the wrong kind of food, so he drained his water bowl to keep it down. It didn't hurt that it helped to wash the taste out, either.

  


The disgruntled Neopet limped over to the corner of his cage that contained a blanket for a bed, and plopped down unceremoniously. After a few licks to each foot, to ease the soreness, he tried to find a comfortable position. Again, those annoying wood chips bothered him. It wasn't enough that they had to hurt his feet, but did they have to poke up against the blanket?

  


After finding a relatively comfortable position; curled up like one of those earth cats he had seen in a book once; he tugged his tail close, and rested his head on it. Even the spines were softer than those wood chips. With another annoyed grunt, he fell asleep, and his recurring nightmare began again.

  


***

  


"No! Momma, why are you leaving me here?" The slightly younger Zafara rose up on his hind legs, and entreatingly put a paw on his owner's pant leg.

  


The Neopian, barely more than a girl, knelt and gently enfolded him in a hug. "I'm sorry, Rugiler. I have to leave... my mother is very sick, and I need to go stay with her, and take care of her."

  


The small pet's body shuddered with barely hidden sobs. "But who will take care of ME?"

  


She gently rubbed him behind his ears, in the special spot he liked to have rubbed. "Just be good, and I'm certain you'll find an owner that will love you." With that, she rose, paid the fee, and silently left.

  


Rugiler's nose brushed the tops of his paws. "But I won't love them... I swear, Momma, that I won't love my new owner."

  


***

  


Rugiler awoke panting, and drenched in an icy cold sweat. That dream again. Why did he keep having it? He was over being abandoned. He understood THAT. And he knew that his Momma wouldn't be coming back. So why did that dream haunt him?

  


Since being left in the pound, Rugiler had been adopted to five different homes. Each time, he had been brought back within a week. Now, word had spread, and the pets in the pound all took care to warn potential owners that he would have none of them. Usually, it was Rugiler himself who requested to go back to the pound.

  


With an annoyed sigh, and a few mental curses about the unfairness of life, he decided to try to get some more shut eye. The pound had just opened, but as he didn't count on getting adopted out, catching another ten winks or so before things got loud and crowded wouldn't hurt.

  


Alas, it wasn't meant to be. 

  


A few minutes after he had gotten comfortable again, and had closed his eyes for his nap, he heard a male voice say "Hello."

  


He opened his eyes, about to tell whoever had interrupted his nap to go away, and jumped back with a surprised yelp, pressing against the back wall of his cage.

  


Staring at him were a pair of glowing crimson eyes. Attached to them was a now apparently very amused ghost Draik. So amused, in fact, that he was rolling on the cage floor, laughing his head off.

  


"What was that for?" Rugiler demanded, which for some reason made the Draik laugh even harder. The Zafara was now seriously doubting his sanity.

  


"Hey! Silver! I got a live one here for ya!" The Draik called outside of the cage, and about a minute later, the face and shoulders of a teenage human girl appeared in front of the bars.

  


"Tideorous, what have I told you about going in the cages and scaring the other pets?" She lightly scolded, as the Draik slipped right through the bars, and leapt onto her shoulder.

  


"Sorry." The Draik said, not sounding sorry at all. On the contrary, he sounded downright pleased with himself.

  


Rugiler shifted uncomfortably, as the teen's attention was now focused on him. He didn't know what it was, but something in her eyes made him feel weird. Right, almost.

  


"This one?" She asked Tideorous, who was now coiled around her neck like some scaly piece of jewelry, his chest, forelegs, and forepaws resting on her left shoulder.

  


"Yep! I like him! He's silly!" This was accompanied by a series of quick nods that left Rugiler dizzy. Somehow, he suspected that it wasn't in this Draik's nature to stay still. Even while resting, the end of his tail twitched madly.

  


Silver reached out and depressed the two tabs keeping the cage door closed (think like something on a dog or cat carrier), and swung the door open. Reaching in, Rugiler felt gentle, firm hands pick him up, one hand supporting his chest, the other supporting him under his tail. There was the sensation of moving through the air, and then the small Neopet felt himself being held against a larger, warm body.

  


"Is it alright with you if you're a lab pet?" Silver's voice sounded in his ear, which twitched at the tickling sensation of her breath.

  


"Does it hurt?"

  


Tideorous laughed, which hurt so close to his big ears. "Naw, it don't hurt. I went for a while, before Silver got me a morphing potion."

  


Rugiler thought it over. Maybe being something other than a Zafara would be nice for a while. "Feh. Why not?"

  


A low chuckle shook Silver's chest, and the movement transferred to Rugiler. Silver shifted him so that she could close the cage, and the carried her precious load up front. There was barely even a line, as it was still relatively early in the morning. This made Rugiler ponder where they lived, and how far it was. This lead to thoughts of what kind of house they had. This in turn lead to thoughts of if Silver had another other pets besides Tideorous. Speaking of whom, the Draik was now energetically dashing from one shoulder to the other, and occasionally detouring to the top of Silver's head. Rugiler wondered how she could stand it.

  


After filling out the paperwork, and paying the adoption fee, Rugiler felt himself being carried out of the pound, something that had never happened. He had always been made to walk.

  


"You're gonna like it where we live. Our home is a huge system of underground tunnels. You'll have to be lead around until you get to know your way. Don't worry, the tunnels are big enough to let you through. They have to be big, so that Silver and Ruinaea can walk without getting back cramps. You're gonna like Ruinaea and Ryuou. Ruinaea is an electric Eyriess, and she's pretty shy, but really sweet once you get to know her. Ryuou is a shadow Kougra, and he's pretty moody at times, but he's really laid back, too. Though that would be a contradiction, right?" Tideorous said all of this very fast.

  


Rugiler's head was spinning. Things had happened very quickly, and Tideorous blabbing away in his ear didn't help. All that he had been able to gather was that there would be two more pets sharing the house with them.

  


"Tideorous, please try to contain yourself. Rugy will need a little time to adjust, and you're not helping matters." Silver said with a sigh.

  


"Ugh. Fine." Tideorous pouted as he plopped down, but the expression didn't hold, as less than a minute later, he was bouncing all over Silver's shoulders again.

  


Finally, Rugiler's mind had been given an opportunity to sift through all this information. "What did you call me?"

  


"Rugy. I can call you something different, if you like."

  


"No, no... Rugy is fine." This was the first time that he had been given a nickname, and he didn't know quite what to think of it.

  


"Don't worry, all of us have nicknames. Silver's full name is silver_grypheonix, but that's too long, so we just call her Silver. Everyone calls me Tide, Ryuou's is Ryo, and Ruinaea's is Maddy."

  


"Maddy?"

  


"Short for Madhea, her full nickname. She read it in a book somewhere, and liked it. Only friends and family can call her that, though."

  


"Oh..." Again, Tide spoke too fast for him to get more than the gist of it. A hand gently massaged the fur on the back of his neck and his shoulders, and suddenly he felt better.

  


"Hey! Maddy! Over here!" Tide jumped to Silver's head, and raised up so that he was on his hind legs. The tiny dragon proceeded to wave with one arm, shouting to gain the Eyrie's attention.

  


Once she had pushed her way through the crowd, Rugy had to conceal his surprise. Most Eyries were the size of an earth horse, but this one was more the size of a smallish pony. Where most Eyrie's shoulders would be even with the top of Silver's head, Maddy's only came to her chest. Silver shifted him to one arm, so that she could rub Maddy's ears in greeting.

  


Rugy soon found himself being scrutinized by piercing amethyst eyes. "So you're the new one, eh?"

  


He shifted nervously. "Uh... yeah..."

  


She gave a soft sigh, and a small smile crept across her beak. "Welcome to the Insane family."

  


Rugy gulped, and Silver chuckled. "Maddy, stop scaring the poor thing. Now come on. I hate to think of what's happened to the house."

  


"Ryo's there." Maddy said defensively as she moved so that she was standing broadside to them.

  


"That's what worries me." Silver pointed out as she lifted Rugy to the Eyrie's back. He hunkered down in her mane, and wrapped his forelegs as far around Maddy's neck as they would go. He felt a small heave, and a warmth behind him signaled that Silver had gotten on. She reached forward and held him in place, which helped to calm his nerves.

  


He knew that Unis were sometimes used as riding animals, with their consent, but he had neverseen anyone ride an Eyrie. They were usually too proud for that.

  


Rugy's heart and stomach lurched down into his feet, and he felt the air whistling past him. He chanced a look over Maddy's shoulder, and had a dizzy spell as he saw the ground whirling around in circles, far below. He fought down a wave of nausea, and pulled his head back, closing his eyes as he did so. Silver sympathetically rubbed his back, and he felt better.

  


After a couple of minutes, the world stopped spinning, and he felt that they were moving in one direction, instead of in circles. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw clouds level with them, as well as a very happy Tide, who was doing some very impressive aerial acrobatics. Rugy wondered how he was able to do that without getting sick, as he watched his new brother perform a triple loop-the-loop, followed by a tight corkscrew.

  


The up and down motion of flying was soothing, and Rugy fell asleep to it.

  


***

  


To be continued...


	2. A new home

Author's note: If you're reading this, then that means that Neopets has decided to post all of Rugy's story. Or else I've gone and decided to post this at Fanfiction.net. Since I know that few people actually read the author's note, I'll just shut up now and let you read.

  
  


*********************

  
  


Rugy groaned and shifted, then slowly opened his eyes. He had the sensation of slow falling, and guessed that they were landing.

  


"Have a nice nap?" Silver's voice came from behind him.

  


"Yeah... how long have I been asleep?" The Zafara asked, rubbing his eyes with a green paw.

  


"About an hour. Maddy is a fast flier, so we're nearly home."

  


He yawned and stretched, his back arching like an earth cat's. Silver's hands steadied him, and kept him from falling off. "Where do we live?"

  


"The Haunted Woods." Rugy froze. "Don't worry, it's not as bad as people make it out to be. Just stay near Ryo, Maddy, or Tide for a while, until you can find your way around on your own."

  


"Finding my way around isn't what I'm worried about..." He muttered. If Silver heard him, she chose not to reply.

  


"We're going to the ray first. Might as well get your first visit over with." Rugy shuddered. Even if Tide had said that it didn't hurt, he wasn't so sure.

  


There was a fierce jolt, and Rugy's chin hit the back of Maddy's neck. "Ow..." He winced and rubbed it with a paw, decided that it wouldn't bruise, and huddled down in the dark blue feathers emblazoned with turquoise lightning bolts.

  


Maddy trotted to a stop, and Tide glided in to land on her head. The draik folded his wings, and proceeded to coil up for a nap. Silver slipped off the Eyrie's back, and gently gathered the Zafara in her arms. She then began carrying the trembling Neopet towards a large building, partially covered in vines. It was run-down, and looked abandoned. Fortunately, it didn't look like it could collapse on their heads at any moment.

  


Silver pushed open the door, and walked inside the dimly lit room. It took up the entire former warehouse, and the only light was what managed to filter in through the grime streaked windows.

  


A yellow scorchio with an Albert Einstein hairdo looked up. He was wearing a white lab coat, and some swirly lensed glasses. At his inquiring look, the scorchio said "They help me to see in this light."

  


"Oh..." Rugy gulped as Silver carried him to a table in front of a MASSIVE ray gun that took up most of the space inside the building.

  


"So, Al, had any luck on building that portable model yet?" She asked as she placed him on the table. She grabbed a pair of sunglasses and put them on his face, fixing them so that they wouldn't fall off.

  


"I still haven't gotten the funding for it. Seems most people think me crazy." Silver's now familiar low chuckles combined with the Scorchio's hearty laugh.

  


The ray hummed, and a light started to gather at the end. A few seconds later, a bright light shot out and engulfed him. Now Rugy knew what the sunglasses were for.

  


Tide had been right. It didn't hurt. All that he felt was a weird tingly sensation, similar to if an arm or foot had fallen asleep, but all over his body. Not pleasant, but not painful, either.

  


The light faded, leaving Rugy feeling different. The Zafara couldn't place how, though.

  


Al ran a scanner over his body, and reported "Gender change."

  


"Oh no... I'm a girl..." Rugy moaned as she sank to the table.

  


"And just what is wrong with being a girl?" Silver asked as she scooped her up.

  


"Uh... nothing..." Rugy sighed as she submitted to an ear rub from Al.

  


"Don't worry..." The scientist murmured. "They may act weird, but they're good people. You'll be fine." Rugy looked into the scorchio's wise eyes, and slowly nodded.

  


Rugy whimpered and closed her eyes at the sudden brightness as Silver carried her outside. After allowing a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, she opened them. And now she was able to get a good look at the Haunted Woods.

  


Immediately, she knew that the rumors had been greatly exaggerated about the place. The trees actually did have leaves on them, and soft grass covered the ground. The plant life was a bit wilder and more tangled than in the other forests she had been in, but that was the only difference she could see.

  


Rugy was brought back to reality by the sounds of her new family talking. Tide gave a sympathetic look at the report of the gender change.

  


"Don't worry. Being a girl isn't TOO bad, I guess..." A couple of scorching looks from Silver and Maddy, and he wisely shut up.

  


***

  


The flight to her new home wasn't nearly as long, and only about five minutes later, Maddy glided in to land in front of a hole in the ground.

  


"That's it?" Rugy asked, a bit disappointed.

  


Silver didn't answer, as she dismounted and put Rugy on the ground. This was fine with her, as her legs were slightly numb. She walked even with Silver's legs, in that particular half walk, half hop that is particular to Zafaras. Basically, her front half walked like a normal four-legger, and her back half hopped along. This gait was developed because a Zafara's forelegs are slightly shorter than their hind legs, and their hind legs were shaped like a rabbit's or kangaroo's, in that they didn't have much in the way of ankles. It looked funny, but it got them where they were going.

  


Rugy blinked and sighed as they were enveloped in darkness. Her eyes were getting a workout today in light adaption.

  


Slowly, her eyes adjusted, and she was able to see with the help of the flickering torches set into the wall. The tunnel was roughly oval, with a flat bottom. It was wide enough for Maddy to easily walk down with room to spare. By this time, she had to hurry to catch up.

  


Rugy was just about to catch up. All that separated them was a shadow.

  


A very SOLID shadow.

  


Rugy groaned and rubbed her head as she picked herself up. "What hit me?"

  


"More like, what hit ME." A voice said in front of her. She looked up, and gulped as she met a pair of disembodied golden eyes.

  


"YAAHH!!! SILVER!!!!" Rugy yelled as she fell over backwards in her attempts to get away.

  


"Hey, chill!" The voice came again. Then, after a short pause, "Oh yeah, I'm faded out. I forgot about that. Here." With that, the form of a shadow Kougra materialized around the eyes.

  


Rugy closed her eyes and concentrated on taking deep breaths. "Don't DO that!"

  


"Well, sorry, but I'm used to people just knowing I'm there. I've lived with these guys so long, that it's instinct for them to step over me." The Kougra said defensively. He then lowered his head and took a few slow sniffs.

  


Rugy opened her eyes, to stare down the muzzle of the largest Kougra she had ever seen. She gulped, and he chuckled.

  


"Don't worry. You're too scrawny to be a meal for me. By the way, I'm Ryuou, but everyone calls me Ryo." He looked her over, actually circling her once, which didn't help Rugy's nerves much. "So you're the new pet, huh?"

  


"Uh... yeah... I guess so..." Rugy shifted uneasily at the pitied look Ryo gave her.

  


"I wonder how long it will be before she takes you back to the pound."

  


Rugy's jaw dropped. "What?"

  


A dark look briefly flashed across Ryo's face, before he got his expressions under control. :You mean they didn't tell you? No, of course they didn't... after the last one freaked... still, you have a right to know..."

  


"Know what?"

  


Ryo sighed and plopped down, crossing his forelegs and resting his head on them. "Silver could find no use for our Lab Map after Tide was through with it, and since she very well couldn't get rid of it, she decided to try to help. So she adopts pets, takes them to the ray until they're something that will be more readily adopted, and takes them back to the pound, so that they can find new owners."

  


Rugy looked down, fighting back tears. "Oh... I should have known that no one would want me..."

  


"Hey, hey, don't go and cry now. It's not that bad. Silver's a good person, and you'll like it here. Besides," Ryo flashed her a grin, "Silver wouldn't have picked you if she didn't think that you had potential." He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Prove her right, for her sake... what she's doing is killing her inside..." With that, he faded into the shadows, leaving behind a very bewildered Zafara.

  


***

  


To be continued...


End file.
